Bible Strands
John 1:24
Then the Pharisees who had been sent
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text introduces Pharisees who had been sent, placing them in the narrative immediately after John's Isaiah quotation and directly before their interrogation about his baptismal authority. This moment marks the first formal religious delegation to approach John regarding his public ministry.
The words — ἀπεσταλμένοι (apestalmenoi) translates literally as "those having been sent," a perfect passive participle that stresses their completed commission. ἐκ (ek) means "from" or "out of," specifying the originating source of their authorization.
The thread — The pattern of sent religious authorities confronting Jesus appears in Matthew 23:13, where Pharisees are condemned for shutting the kingdom of heaven, and Luke 11:39, where Jesus charges them with internal corruption while maintaining external piety. Luke 11:53 records scribes and Pharisees opposing him bitterly and pressing him with numerous questions.
Why it lands — The verse records the factual arrival of commissioned religious investigators, establishing the immediate context for their challenge to John's baptism. It requires the reader to observe how institutional authority routinely questions independent divine commissioning without endorsing either side.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
Cross-references
- Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
- Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
- Luke 11:53 As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,
- Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.
- Luke 16:14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.
- John 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
- Matthew 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
- John 7:47 “Have you also been deceived?” replied the Pharisees.
- Acts 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection nor angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
- Acts 26:5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.